The only time I watched “19 Kids and Counting,” that TV show about the Duggars, I nearly choked. My daughter was interested in it, so I sat down with her and turned it on. They are a home school family, and they are Christians, and I will not criticize them too much for any of their choices, because–God bless them–they are doing what they believe God has called them to do, raising that big bunch of kids.

But (you knew there would be a “but, didn’t you?) this one episode had the family visiting a public elementary school and talking to kids about their big family. Essentially they had become ambassadors for homeschooling. A student asked one of the older girls about her favorite book of all time. She smiled and named something that made me groan. Honestly, I don’t remember which book she named, but it was not a classic by any stretch of the imagination. When I had looked it up, I found it was some sort of Christian fiction novel that oozes romance, bonnets, and formulaic simplicity. (See my blog on those silly books here.) I had SO wanted to see someone stand up and tell the world that she was a well-read homeschooler by announcing that her favorite book of all time was something like Les Miserables or The Scarlet Letter. Instead, she showed the shallowness of so many parents who just don’t reach beyond their comfort level and challenge their children with excellent literature.

Not very attractive, is it? (Poor kids.) The same can be said about literature. Consuming mushy, senseless literature creates mushy thinking. There is no challenge for the mind to hang on to, no deep thinking to draw upon, no great themes to puzzle over. Mindless reading may be good for a day at the beach, but a steady diet of it will stultify the brain just like empty calories and high sugar content will create sluggish little bodies.

Challenge your child to read great literature. I have all sorts of good suggestions here. Give your child the wonderful struggle of good over evil, the theme that every conscience dwells on daily. Give them deep subjects to wrestle with, reaching slightly over their age level once in a while. Read to them from the non-abridged versions of classic literature and let their little imaginations soar. Once they get accustomed to a diet of rich literature, that junky, formulaic romance will no longer hold any sway.

Just like a good diet, though, you certainly don’t want to slip into old habits of sugary, fatty nonsense. Fill your bookshelf with classics that fire the imagination. Start them early with great selections from AA Milne, Shel Silverstein, Robert Louis Stevenson, Lucy Maud Montgomery, CS Lewis, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and more. Keep them going on that once they can read on their own. When they’re older, tantalize them with JK Rowling, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters. And once they have consumed all of this, they are ready for the really big guns: Victor Hugo, Ayn Rand, Leo Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Herman Melville, James Joyce, William Faulkner, Joseph Conrad, and more.

Why challenge their sweet little minds? Why not let them just read what they want? Because, left to their own devices, they will slink away to a corner and eat french fries and chocolate bars all day long. Left to their own devices, they will read Captain Underpants until their minds turn to fat, sweaty mush. Left to their own devices, they are suddenly age 17, wondering why they can’t pass their SAT tests.

Some moms have sweetly told me that while challenging their kids to work hard and well on their schoolwork is a good thing, raising them to be good people in a loving environment is much more important. I will always look those parents in the eye (figuratively, since I am speaking to them from the blogosphere) and remind them that one of the most loving things they can do is to teach their children hard work done well–a skill that will last them a lifetime, no matter what they do in their lives.

Shaunna,
Do you ever give your recommendations for homeschool curricula at the grammar stage? For boys? I am trying to decide if I can face another challenging year homeschooling my energetic, people-person son for fourth grade. I used E.D Hirsch’s What Every 3rd Grader needs to Know for my scope and sequence last semester, but in doing that I had to attempt to create my own schedule with each subject/curriculum chosen individually (not a boxed set). I found this to be difficult and it left me feeling insecure, frustrated and defeated. My boy needs a lot of breaks and large gross motor movement to perform well academically each day (I’m also schooling my 5th and 7th grader). I want to teach him to work hard and challenge him with excellent materials, all within a reasonable time frame. I have also been to a couple home school conventions, and there is a lot to sift through. Many Christians embrace the Charlotte Mason method, which I like at some level, but I prefer a common core standard. Would you be willing to recommend your top choices if you were to school a 9 year old boy who would rather have wild adventures outside than check his math work?

Hang in there. I am sorry you are frustrated. I don’t have specific curricular advice for younger years, but as the mother of two boys I know that they all learn differently, and boys are sometimes very challenging to teach when they are younger. My youngest had to walk in circles around me to tell me stories. He drummed incessantly while talking, doing his math, eating, you name it. He still drums on anything in view, and his fiancee now has to remind him he’s drumming. That’s just him. 🙂 And he doesn’t need to sit while doing math. He can stand, or perch, or lie down. As long as the blood is still pumping to his brain, I suppose he could try hanging upside down, but that might get counter-productive.

Try doing class for half a day and then running madly for half a day. Let the running madly part be the reward for sitting still. Think about giving points for sitting still to do math for 20 minutes, and letting him spend his points on activities you allow.

Consider doing blocks of subjects. Do four weeks of math and science, then four weeks of grammar, writing, and history. Something creative like that. Maybe that will help him to hang in there when he would rather get wild. There’s nothing that says you need to cover every subject every week–as long as you get it covered in a year, you’re good. 🙂

Rhetoric Text

You can now find Thoughts Clothed in Words, the second edition of our Biblical Worldview Rhetoric textbook, at amazon.com.

This textbook combines the previous edition of Rhetoric 1 and 2, adding new content. A separate collection of discourses studied in Rhetoric, titled The Art of Fitting Expression, will be available shortly. Also forthcoming: an enhanced teacher text containing quizzes, answers, worksheets, additional discussion questions, and a suggested time table for the course.

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